I appreciate the Minister's reply. I guess one of the other aspects that I would like to ask the Minister is that we have another opportunity where we have to negotiate contracts sometimes where we don't go out for a public offering per se. That negotiated process allows for some added-value northern benefits to be had for training, for potential apprenticeships, for hiring, and that sort of thing. Is there any kind of requirement that we can build into our P3 negotiating process that would for sure ensure that we have northern benefits such as those that we see when we do negotiated contracts in the Northwest Territories?

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Today my questions are for the Minister of Finance. Earlier I spoke about P3 contracts and how these are becoming maybe a bit of a new norm here in the Northwest Territories, but right now they don't necessarily include northern benefit policies, such as BIP, to be applied to them or similar types of aspects of, let's say, negotiated contracts. I would like to ask the Minister: is there anything built into the negotiated process when you are negotiating with a proponent with P3s that brings northern benefit to the NWT in terms of employment or having to use local contractors and suppliers? Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I seek unanimous consent to waive Rule 101(4) and to have Committee Report 33-18(3) moved into Committee of the Whole for consideration later today. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 33-18(3), Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment Report on Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act, be received by the Assembly and moved into Committee of the Whole for further consideration. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. Your Standing Committee on Economic Development and Environment is pleased to provide its report on Bill 34, Mineral Resources Act. Mr. Speaker, I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River North, that Committee Report 33-18(3) be deemed read and printed in Hansard in its entirety. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to take this opportunity to recognize former Member and former Minister and resident of Yellowknife North and understood to be a candidate in the upcoming election, Dave Ramsay. Thank you for being here, and welcome.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I would like to talk today about P3 contracts. Public-private partnerships have been used to achieve some of our large infrastructure projects here in the North, like the new Stanton Territorial Hospital, and will be the method used for the Whati road.

The benefit of P3s is that projects that would otherwise not have funding can be completed using long-term payments that don't require an increase in taxes. That way, government funds can be used elsewhere for other priorities, but, Mr. Speaker, our government has policies to support northern businesses. To be consistent, I think that we need better rules for P3s.

We need to ensure that, in each case, there is a strong benefit component to Northerners. For example, we have a detailed Business Incentive Policy. It ensures that the northern businesses bidding on government contracts have an advantage when BIP is applied. As the government conducts operations, northern businesses can successfully be awarded government work.

Similarly, our Negotiated Contracts Policy is described to provide benefits to northern businesses and communities. Negotiated contracts are intended to create growth in non-market communities or regions, providing jobs for Northerners, support for new and developing businesses, and opportunities for on-the-job training and apprenticeships. A good example is the recent Norman Wells health centre. There, the negotiated contract provided not only substantial work for northern businesses, but also trades training and life skills development in all Sahtu communities.

When it comes to P3s, BIP doesn't apply, and northern benefits aren't always negotiated. An example is the company managing the new Stanton Hospital. When the hospital opened, the contract for coffee throughout the hospital went to a southern company. Needless to say, Yellowknife coffee suppliers were not happy. The complaint was resolved, and we now have a northern coffee supplier at the new hospital.

The lesson is clear: BIP and our Negotiated Contracts Policy make sure that northern businesses, communities, and individuals gain the most benefits from the government conducting business. In that same way, if we keep using P3s, Northerners need to reap the benefits of substantial public spending. We have policies that already work for Northerners, injecting them into the P3 contracting process is the way that we must go in the future. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Speaker. I move, seconded by the honourable Member for Hay River South, that Bill 56, An Act to Amend the Legislative Assembly and Executive Council Act, No. 2, be read for the third time; and, Mr. Speaker, I request a recorded vote. Thank you, Mr. Speaker.

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I am actually going to be in support. I have been seeing both sides of how some of these land uses have taken part in the past. I don't think that the mover of this motion has any intention to limit anyone's ability in terms of, let's say for example, leaseholders who are going to have recreational properties or cabins or the like; that's not the intention of the mover to want to put any kind of mandatory security on those types of leaseholds.

While the Member has mentioned the Giant Mine project and the now remediation that we have to deal with, and the lack of security there, and what it has incurred our government now to have to cover the bases, it is only one example of many throughout this territory that show that we have in the past, by not having some forms of security allowed for various forms of uses to take place that maybe would have otherwise been swayed or dissuaded, had there been appropriate mandatory securities in place. We have at last count, I think, somewhere over 400 various contaminated sites throughout the Northwest Territories, from as large as Giant Mine to as small as some call it barrels of diesel or what have you that have been left at an old site.

I think, when people or land users of various kinds are going to engage in commercial or industrial uses, that it isn't unbecoming of a government to expect that they put some degree of security in place. Remember that it is a security and, if you do what you are expected to do in this territory, then it's a good chance you're getting your security back.

I appreciate that, in other various forms, we've tried to make security a thing within our pieces of legislation, and I am supportive of the Member's motion. I look forward to passing this. Thank you.